PCToday continues its regular feature – welcoming new full-time and regular part-time Pennsylvania College of Technology employees, as reported by the Human Resources Office.
Sisters Kierstin N. Bathurst, of Jersey Shore, and Marissa L. Bathurst, of Linden, shared yet another experience when they marched across the stage at a Pennsylvania College of Technology commencement ceremony on Aug. 7.
The Bathursts, both petitioning to receive associate degrees in radiography, have spent a great deal of time together over the past two years, motivating each other through their natural affinity for competition, helping each other via last-minute cram sessions before exams and supporting each other with pep talks before hands-on evaluations.
Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Board of Directors on Thursday approved the lone action item on its agenda: a line of credit to enhance liquidity in the uncertain times associated with COVID-19.
THON dancers Shadle and Schneider represented Penn College on the Bryce Jordan Center floor last winter. (Photo provided)
Penn College Benefiting THON has kicked off its first fundraiser of the season, enlisting “100 donors in 100 days” for the Four Diamonds fight against childhood cancer. The student organization, led by construction management major Rudy C. Shadle, of Mechanicsburg, is soliciting contributions to send dancers to Penn State THON 2021 (Feb. 19-21), a 46-hour “no sleeping, no sitting” marathon that annually raises money and awareness. “The experience overall was truly amazing and something I am very thankful I had the opportunity to partake in,” said Shadle, who represented Penn College along with Bria O. Schneider, an occupational therapy assistant student from York. “Even when you feel like you’re in so much pain, you remember why you are there; that’s for the kids and families that all have had a much harder battle to face.” An eventwide total of $11,696,942.38 was raised this past year, about $1 million more than in THON 2019.
The mikeroweWORKS Foundation recognized the potential of nine Pennsylvania College of Technology students to shrink the skills gap by awarding them Work Ethic Scholarships for the 2020-21 academic year.
The foundation, created by skilled-labor advocate Mike Rowe, distributes the scholarships annually to students who “embrace personal responsibility, delayed gratification, a positive attitude and a strong work ethic” in preparing for a career in the skilled trades. Over $1 million was distributed to 223 recipients nationwide. Nearly 1,000 students applied for the scholarships.
PCToday continues its regular feature – welcoming new full-time and regular part-time Pennsylvania College of Technology employees, as reported by the Human Resources Office.
Students show off final projects for Introduction to Modernist Kitchen. From left: Ashley J. Hoffer, of Manheim; Dane S. Druckenmiller, of Hellertown; Hailey R. Dunn, of York Haven; and Rebecca E. High, of Willow Street.
Students in the course Introduction to Modernist Kitchen, taught by Chef Frank M. Suchwala, associate professor of hospitality management/culinary arts, finished their spring class competencies this week, each preparing an impressive three-course spread of appetizer, entree and dessert. The class explores the modern culinary techniques of spherification, foaming canisters, sous vide cookery, gelation, flash freezing with liquid nitrogen and avant-garde cuisine. Photo by Chef Frank M. Suchwala, associate professor of hospitality management/culinary arts
Pennsylvania College of Technology’s physical therapist assistant Class of 2021 recently helped to plant 140 trees as part of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership.
Twenty-one students gathered at Trailing Pines Tree Farm in Muncy to plant trees in late June.
The certified tree farm is owned by Paul Huffman, a 1987 graduate of Williamsport Area Community College, a forerunner of Penn College, and is dedicated to wildlife management and conservation.
At the college’s May 2019 commencement ceremony, Lisa M. Zimmer celebrates the culmination of her 12-year journey to a bachelor’s degree in dental hygiene.smiles4recovery is a burgeoning nonprofit that was born of Zimmer’s senior project.
From the Spring 2020 Penn College Magazine: Lisa M. Zimmer’s resolute spirit has borne her through a 12-year journey to a bachelor’s degree in dental hygiene that included overcoming opioid addiction and developing a senior project, now a nonprofit organization, to provide oral health care to those in recovery. Read “Restoring smiles and lives.”
That’s the real-world perspective of Tyler G. Smith, a maintenance technician at West Pharmaceutical Services Inc., who is three-quarters into a four-year registered apprenticeship program administered by Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Workforce Development department.
“Every minute” is part of the 144 hours of annual classroom theory – four hours, once a week – designed to help employees and employers alike plug the gap between skilled positions and the workers who fill them. This instruction supplements the 2,000 hours that Smith and his classmates each spend training on-the-job.
With support from the National Science Foundation, Pennsylvania College of Technology recently “manufactured” a weeklong educational experience for 13 high school teachers and school counselors from throughout the state.
The Manufacturing Externship Camp revealed to educators the promising realities of manufacturing careers through several activities, including a robot-building exercise that they can replicate at their home schools. The camp is one of several Penn College initiatives – funded by a grant from the NSF’s Advanced Technological Education program – dedicated to growing the manufacturing workforce.
The Wildcat Den provides a fitting studio for Young’s participation in a national esports convention.
Joshua D. Young, founding coach of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s esports program and a member of the National Association of Collegiate Esports Board of Directors, remotely participated in the third annual NACE National Convention (July 22-24).
Young – employed as a learning systems administrator in the college’s Office of Instructional Technology – participated in several sessions from the Wildcat Den, dedicated esports space on the second floor of Madigan Library. (While necessitated by COVID-19 precautions for the event, casting from campus also allowed Young to show off the facility to his online colleagues.)
Presidential Student Ambassador Autumn G. McCrum, an applied management major from Kennesaw, Georgia, leads a fast-paced virtual tour of Main Campus – highlighting Penn College’s major academic areas and student life opportunities – in a new video released by the Admissions Office and Public Relations & Marketing. “When you come to campus, there’s even more to see,” says McCrum, an invitation for prospective students and their families to schedule an in-person visit. “I can’t wait to see you!”
With a focused eye toward honoring its reputation for hands-on instruction, all the while abiding by up-to-the-minute advice from government and health experts, Pennsylvania College of Technology will fully reopen for the fall semester on Aug. 17 with in-person instruction.
“We stand ready to recommit to the pivotal role our institution plays in delivering STEM education, partnering with business and industry, and producing the highly skilled ‘tomorrow makers’ needed for essential occupations in Pennsylvania and beyond,” college President Davie Jane Gilmour said.
The president and other college administrators held a series of virtual “town hall” meetings on July 20-21 for students and their families, faculty, and staff, answering questions about the comprehensive and collaborative procedures in place to balance the institution’s moral, ethical and professional obligations in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Penn College Benefiting THON has kicked off its first fundraiser of the season, enlisting “100 donors in 100 days” for the Four Diamonds fight against childhood cancer. The student organization, led by construction management major Rudy C. Shadle, of Mechanicsburg, is soliciting contributions to send dancers to Penn State THON 2021 (Feb. 19-21), a 46-hour “no sleeping, no sitting” marathon that annually raises money and awareness. “The experience overall was truly amazing and something I am very thankful I had the opportunity to partake in,” said Shadle, who represented Penn College along with Bria O. Schneider, an occupational therapy assistant student from York. “Even when you feel like you’re in so much pain, you remember why you are there; that’s for the kids and families that all have had a much harder battle to face.” An eventwide total of $11,696,942.38 was raised this past year, about $1 million more than in THON 2019.
